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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories without peak performances felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. The Anfield side continued with mediocre performances and started dropping matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute backline and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Does a trio of straight defeats represent a collapse? As with most football debates, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central word. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Are Aston Villa a major club? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that's a question we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor crisis seems a fair assessment. During a broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that particular point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe clear tactical problems. Assimilating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, the majority of the team are. Yet they all share one significant, recent event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. Although the wider world progresses quickly, shifting attention to other matters, the club's players carry on training and playing each day in the absence of their mate.

This is not possible to know how each individual and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he was tired. Or maybe his form is down a small per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a fixture, making a comparison to his own experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's loss. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you find every day that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his unused locker in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that all is not normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

Having covering football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in most analysis. We genuinely do not know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's death is one of the most stark examples. We are aware a terrible event occurred, and we comprehend the concept of grief. But further lies an immeasurable layer of impact on different individuals at the organization. It is highly likely that a few of the squad personally don't fully understand its effect from one moment to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters dissect displays is obviously far from the primary factor. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a brief segment before transitioning to tactical concerns. Outside of this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each critique of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, personal struggles, or relationship problems.

An ex- pro footballer, the defender, lately spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's passing midway through his career affected his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "The high points and the lows that accompany it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or failure—even if we don't mention it every time we discuss their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole reason for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional footballer, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.